What do you do to keep your bills down?

I can't get the bills down but I can definitely maintain it at a certain level that we can afford. I only turn the A/C from 9PM to 4AM in the morning, its really hot in our place today. I don't use rice cooker, its big no no for me, I cook rice in the pot, I learned how to do it. We only iron clothes once in a week coz iron takes up almost 20% of the electricity bill second to that is the electric fan, if its on for hours it's consumption is same as though you iron clothes the whole day.

In order to keep your bills down, the best thing to do is not to use anything which would increase your bill.

Electric heating costs a lot, so we just keep it down, and put on a sweater when it gets cold up here. We also don't subscribe to services we don't need (basic phone and cable plans etc) and any time we can get something for less money, we do. I also just got something in the mail with ideas to save money on banking.

I use those spira; light bulb have way be fore they started hollering green! When I started using them the light company came out 3 times checking our meter lol

I do keep my furnace down in the winter.....wish I could now turn it off outside. I just put on warmer clothes too. Other then that I watch what I buy at the grocery store....use coupons....etc.

We also try to keep the heat low and in the summer instead of having a air conditioning unit we use fans, and I have also contacted my cable company and received a packaged deal for my phone, internet and cable and I only have basic cable which cuts down on cost very much. I have also started getting up half an hour earlier than usual and making breakfast and lunch for me and my husband with thermos of hot coffee for both of us. I buy mostly in bulk with my sister and her family and anywhere else I can find to cut corners I do it.

Like you, I believe being practical is the most intelligent way to go. I want to smack people who turn the heat up and get around in a singlet and bare feet when they should be dressing warmly and turning the heat down. They'll be sorry when they are older to find that their skin is all dried out because of the artificial heat. Long showers of pure indulgence are also a criminal offence in my book, as are leaving lights on in rooms which are not in use. They tell me that switching appliances off at the wall when not in use is also a saving so I will be trying that when my next bill comes. I will switch off everything at the wall except the fridge and freezer and they won't be turned on again till I need them next day. I'll be interested to see how much of a difference it makes. Apart from the financial aspect...we are talking about saving our resources. Power does not grow on trees. Even though as a society we are becoming more affluent we need to become more aware of saving our planet...not wasting the resources just because we, personally can afford it.

If I were by myself, I would put a sweater on in winter or open the windows in summer, but my husband thinks we should turn up the heat in winter, and use the air conditioner in summer so I have to do other things. I use those flourescent bulbs, turn the lights off when we are not in the room. We also eat no name instead of brand name, unless the brand name tastes much better. I will buy from the bulk bin rather then from the package section.

y'know what? i've given up,myself.all i can hope for is payment arrangements. they keep asking for and getting increases,so even if you save,it ends up costing more than the last month. i am gonna be getting rid of our old 14 gallon toilets here shortly though. it's killing us on the water bill.

Are you in the U.S.? If so, shopping by using sales & coupons is by far my greatest money saver. I save about $500 per month or more each month for my family of 4. I even wrote a book on the subject. The link is on my profile page. I live in a warm climate so we rarely use heat, but we have to run the air conditioner pretty much year round. If we don't keep it around 75-76 degrees, the humidity can cause mold/mildew to grow.

We also wear jumpers and socks during the winter months.I also use the micro wave oven as often as I can and no longer leave dinner on top of oven on simmer I cook it ,when it is ready dish it up straight away.Keep all lights off if no one is in the room,we have put energy saving bulbs in all our fittings now.Use a carpet sweeper instead of vaccum cleaner.Use the shower and not fill up a big bath tub.Use up left overs if they are ok of course.I have an eco washing machine which I make sure it full and only use the economy button.All these things help to keep our bills down.You are right about healthy kids we never had all the colds they get these days and we did not have central heating or double glazing.There is on other thing that i have done without being silly I have stopped buying branded grocerys ,buying supermarkets own, I saved a third of my shopping bill.we still eat well just don't have the labels in the cupboard anymore.

I brought those new spira light bulbs and have then in every room in my house even the yard light. I keep my furnace down on 65 in the winter. I have a swamp cooler. I buy items that are on sales at the grocery store and I buy store brand instead of brand name.

I am a very extravagent person. So i never try to keep my monthlye expenses bills lower. Wehever i start buying things i never see my bills or pocket. I just but whatever i need, i never bother about the monthly expense. I just bother it only i the last days of the months when i left with no money to spend. Whole month i remain a king but in the last week of the month i have to be very consious of my spendings. I have treid to change mt this nature a lot but fails always.

When I don't use the computer,I will close the computer. And the light too.

I do all kinds of things to keep my bills down also. I turn on fans and don't turn the air conditioning down a whole lot. I leave the lights off if we do not need them on. I use cold water if I can instead of hot. We make one trip to the stores to avoid extra gas and travel. We buy foods that will last that we can afford instead of the higher priced ones occasionally. Those are just a few things.